UNWTO launches new energy efficiency project in IndonesiaUNWTO and the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MoCT) have launched a new energy efficiency project in Indonesia. The project, “Sustainable Tourism through Energy Efficiency with Adaptation and Mitigation Measures in Pangandaran” (STREAM), aims to serve as a model of innovative climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in tourism destinations in Indonesia and South-East Asia.

UNWTO Algarve Forum sets a consensus for tourism strategiesWhile tourism has enormous potential to contribute to development, it can only do so with adequate governance systems which empower people and communities – this was one of the main messages emerging from the UNWTO Algarve Forum (1-3 June, Vilamoura, Portugal). The Forum – intended to bridge theory and practice in tourism as an instrument for development and good governance – convened over 300 representatives from the private and public sector who were joined by prestigious academics to conclude several months of on-line discussion and establish a consensus on tourism strategies for the next decade and beyond.

3 June 2011MadridSpain

International community to back tourism development in West African ParksInternational development banks, UN agencies and intergovernmental organizations have pledged to support the sustainable development of tourism in a network of parks spanning ten countries in West Africa. Commitments to the West Africa Parks Project came out of a UNWTO Donor’s Conference held in Dakar, Senegal (27-28 May 2011), chaired by the Prime Minister of Senegal,Souleymane Ndéné Ndiaye,and attended by Ministers of Tourism of West African countries.

2 June 2011MadridSpain

Central and Eastern European countries join forces for sustainable tourism development in the Carpathian MountainsThe seven Central and Eastern European countries sharing the Carpathian mountain range have agreed to jointly manage the sustainable development of tourism; a sector of fundamental importance to the region. Meeting at the 3rd Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention, the countries adopted the Protocol on Sustainable Tourism, drafted by UNWTO and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), which lays the foundations for a coordinated approach to tourism (Bratislava, Slovakia, 25-27 May).